Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE)

The laureats of CELE's 4th Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities have been identified

It was a challenging task. But at the end of two days of intense debates and scrutiny the six-member international jury finally reached consensus on the best facilities to be showcased in the forthcoming CELE publication Designing for Education: Compendium of Exemplary Educatonal Facilities 2011. These two days were preceded by months of careful preparation. Photos, plans and descriptions of 166 submissions from 33 countries had been shared with the jury. Each member had examined and compared the respective merits of each facility, bearing in mind the following four criteria: innovation in design, fitness for purpose, sustainability and safety. The jury members then made his/her own short list. Meeting in Paris for the first time at the end of August, they shared impressions. With so many wonderful examples to choose from, the jury had great difficulty narrowing down the selection, but by the end of the two days they identified the educational facilities which best illustrate excellence in these fields. The jury also identified an overall outstanding submission and five special commendations.

Next steps

The results of the jury process were shared with the members of the CELE Board of Participants, and the names of the selected facilities were made public in November 2010. The Compendium will be published in September 2011; for more information, see here.

The jury members (who are either practising architects or qualified in architecture, with expertise in education) all have many years of experience on which they based their decisions.

The jury comprised (clockwise from left):

Sally Brooks, architect, former Deputy Director, Department for Children, Schools and Families; United Kingdom (familiar with schools, sustainability and government policy).